The headliners in the great 2014 Labor Day Weekend “Hacker Fiasco” were Hollywood types like Jennifer Lawrence, Rihanna and Ariana Grande, but the sports world was hit hard as well.
Photos, nude and otherwise, were leaked on sites across the Internet with gymnast McKayla Maroney and soccer star Hope Solo gaining seemingly unwanted attention. Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander was also seen nude alongside girlfriend and quasi-Sports sensation Kate Upton. Gossip sports sites like Barstoolsports.com of course ran wild with the photos but in a somewhat unprecedented move, Twitter banned some sites’ voluminous accounts. Meanwhile, Deadspin says it was getting tips weeks ago that hundreds of photos of certain stars were going to be published.
The authenticity of Maroney’s pictures have come into question since Sunday, mainly because she called them into question herself, Tweeting the following:
the fake photos of me are crazy!! was trying to rise above it all, and not give “the creator” the time of day.. BUT.. pic.twitter.com/hceQcOxYkJ
— McKayla Maroney (@McKaylaMaroney) September 1, 2014
The release of the alleged nude photos of Maroney come during a time when the Olympic star has been flashing much more skin in public, much to the delight of creepy old men who actually watch gymnastics during Olympic off-years. (By the way, Maroney was born on Dec. 9, 1995 … so you pervs are in the clear.)
Here’s Maroney throwing out the first pitch at a White Sox game in August. She single-handedly brings back the midriff:
Here she is with fellow female sports sex symbol Lolo Jones at the (treading carefully) Nickelodeon Sports Awards:
Maroney’s Instagram page is also a sign that she intended for the Summer of 2014 to be the Summer of McKayla regardless of the alleged nudes: http://instagram.com/p/qC2e_EKiQG/?modal=true
Follow Metro Boston sports editor and columnist Matt Burke on Twitter: @BurkeMetroBOS